Manager-Brand & Creative Strategy

** Candidates must be located in Atlanta. This position will require coming into the office on Monday and Wednesday. **
The Manager, Brand and Creative Strategy is responsible for developing and executing integrated creative strategies across Cox Automotive consumer brands. This role serves as the bridge between business objectives and creative execution, translating marketing strategies into compelling creative that drive brand-building and performance outcomes.
As a key member of the creative team reporting to the Sr. Manager, Creative Strategy, this role leads creative strategy development, agency partnership, and creative governance across all business units while also playing an active role in shaping creative output. You will lead creative strategy for brand campaigns, social media, influencer programs, and performance marketing-ensuring creative excellence, brand consistency, and business impact across all consumer touchpoints.
In addition to strategic leadership, this role brings a strong hands-on creative perspective-contributing to concept development, refining creative output, and ensuring ideas translate effectively into high-quality execution.
Key Responsibilities:
Creative Strategy Development
Develop integrated creative strategies for brand campaigns, social media, influencer programs, and performance marketing across all consumer business units

• Translate business and marketing strategies into clear, inspiring creative briefs that guide agency partners and internal teams

• Lead social media and influencer creative strategy, identifying partnership opportunities and developing creative programs that feel authentic and drive engagement

• Partner with Manager, Brand Social on social content calendar, ensuring creative consistency and strategic alignment

• Create testing strategies for creative optimization across channels (brand media, social, email, performance marketing)

• Maintain and evolve brand guidelines, ensuring creative consistency across all touchpoints and business units

• Serve as creative gatekeeper, ensuring all consumer-facing creative meets brand standards and quality expectations

• Partner with media teams to ensure creative is optimized for each media channel and format (TV, streaming, digital, OOH, social, email)

• Collaborate with analytics to understand creative performance and optimize future creative strategies

• Apply a strong creative point of view to ensure strategic direction translates into effective, platform-ready creative

• Contribute to concept development and creative ideation, helping shape how campaigns come to life across channels

• Ensure brand positioning and messaging are consistently reflected in creative execution

Agency Management & Creative Development

• Serve as primary creative strategist for creative agency partners, providing strategic direction and feedback

• Brief creative agencies on campaigns, ensuring briefs are clear, inspiring, and strategically sound

• Evaluate creative concepts and executions against strategic objectives, brand standards, and business goals

• Provide strategic creative feedback that elevates agency work while maintaining alignment to business objectives

• Manage creative review and approval processes, coordinating stakeholder feedback and ensuring timely decision-making

• Partner closely with agencies to refine and elevate creative work, bringing a strong eye for design, storytelling, and content effectiveness

• Step in as needed to support or supplement creative development-ensuring quality and continuity across deliverables

Creative Production & Brand Execution

• Contribute hands-on creative expertise across design, content, and storytelling to support campaign execution

• Guide development of social content, video, and digital assets to ensure alignment with strategy and platform best practices

• Ensure creative execution reflects modern content trends, platform behaviors, and audience expectations

• Support ongoing evolution of brand expression across formats, ensuring relevance and consistency

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline and 6 years experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 4 years experience; a Ph.D. and 1 year of experience; or 10 years experience in a related field
• Proven experience developing creative strategies for integrated campaigns across multiple channels Strong background working with creative agencies, providing strategic direction and managing agency partnerships
• Experience developing social media and influencer creative strategies
• Proficiency using AI tools for content creation and production
• Background in brand marketing, advertising, or related field
• Strategic Creative Thinking: Can translate business objectives into compelling creative strategies and actionable creative direction
• Brand Strategy: Deep understanding of brand positioning, messaging, and identity systems
• Multi-Channel Expertise: Understanding of creative requirements and best practices across brand media, social, influencer, digital, and performance channels
• Social & Influencer: Knowledge of social platforms, content trends, and influencer marketing approaches
• Storytelling: Ability to craft compelling narratives and guide how they are expressed creatively across channels
• Agency Management: Ability to manage creative agencies, balancing strategic direction with creative excellence
• Presentation Skills: Strong ability to present creative strategies and concepts to senior stakeholders
• Strong creative craft across design, video, and/or content development

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Design, or related field
• Automotive or marketplace experience preferred
• Experience capturing and editing video content for social platforms
• Ability to write clear, engaging copy (social, scripts, or campaigns)
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, etc.)

USD 89,400.00 - 134,000.00 per year
Compensation:
Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $89,400.00 - $134,000.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.
Benefits:
The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.
Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship.
EOE, including disability/vets